For Good or Ill
by Sailor Sol
Summary: Elven magic could not save Frodo Baggins from the Witch King’s wound. Faced with a choice, Sam takes up the mantle of his friend in a bitter attempt to avenge his death. The Ring must go to Mordor, be it for good or ill.
1. Chapter 1

**For Good Or Ill**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff.

Author's Note: I wrote this story for my philosophy class. Couldn't have done it without Robin, Sara, DC, and Sara. Thanks for everything, you guys!

* * *

He had seen them coming—more elves, dwarves, and a man. He hardly paid them any attention though, too caught up in his own grief and despair. Lord Elrond had not been able to save Frodo from fading, and no amount of wondrous sights could change that. Gandalf had assured Samwise that his master was as good as dead. 

Bilbo was terribly saddened by the passing of his cousin and heir, but Sam couldn't find it in himself to comfort the older hobbit. Neither could he handle the sympathy of his friends, Merry and Pippin.

He had been taking a walk to avoid the other hobbits when he had heard the strange words echoing through the hallway. They were dark, and the voice was strange yet familiar. Curiosity overcame him (something not even Gandalf's threats could scare out of him), and Sam found himself witness to a council of men, dwarves, elves, wizard, and hobbit. He slipped unnoticed into the shadows and listened intently to the story of Gandalf's delay, and the discussion on what to do with Mr. Frodo's Ring. His heart ached when Bilbo offered to carry the Ring, and a small part of him was glad when Gandalf discouraged that option.

There was the briefest moment of silence as those in the council contemplated their choices, and it felt to Sam as if the entire world had shifted and placed itself firmly on his shoulders. Stepping out of the shadows, he cleared his throat.

"I will take the Ring. I will finish what Mr. Frodo started."

* * *

"We must leave as soon as can be arranged," Gandalf stated. "The Enemy will be watching, but to wait may prove our undoing. Through Frodo, Sauron has seen our intentions to destroy the Ring. He will turn his forces towards our destruction to protect what is his."

"Where shall we go?" Sam asked, fidgeting nervously with the Ring that now hung on a chain around his neck.

"North, to the High Pass. If all goes well, we should be at the River Anduin by mid November. From there we go south," the wizard replied.

"We shall be going as well," Pippin stated firmly. Gandalf gave him a long, sad look.

"I should think not, Peregrin Took." Pippin looked much put out by Lord Elrond's firm response.

"I must agree with Lord Elrond. Had things been only a little different, I may have thought otherwise. But it is best that the Fellowship remain as small as possible, and while two more hobbits are a small addition indeed, the road ahead shall not be safe. Friendship can only endure so much. Let us not test the strength of what is left of that," Gandalf said.

"Six it shall be, then. Gimli of the Dwarves, Legolas of the Elves, Boromir of Gondor, Aragorn son of Arathorn, the Ringbearer Sam, and Gandalf the Grey to lead them. I will have my people make all necessary preparations so that the Fellowship may leave at once." And with that, Lord Elrond left Sam and the others with their own thoughts.

While as brave and hard-working as any other hobbit, Sam did not inspire confidence. He was not a natural leader, was quick to judge, and slow to trust. But he had a job to do, and he trusted the old wizard—and Strider to a lesser degree, even if the other three members of their Fellowship intimidated him.

He would miss his friends dearly, but he was glad that they would not be going into danger. Already he had lost one friend, and he did not wish to lose any more doing something so terribly unrelated to hobbits. Men and elves and dwarves had started this, and now he was left to finish it. If only Mr. Frodo hadn't died, but even Gandalf had abandoned the hobbits once when they had needed him the most, though through no fault of his own.

No, he would allow the Fellowship to help him as they could, but he couldn't trust any of them where the Ring was concerned, and it was better off that Merry and Pippin stayed behind with Mr. Bilbo. He didn't want to have to question their intentions as well.

"Good luck, Sam." Merry gave Sam a large hug before stepping aside for his friend.

"Be careful. Don't be getting into too much trouble while you're gone," Pippin said, discreetly wiping away the tears on his face.

"You should be talking, Pip. You get into more trouble than all the rest of us combined," Merry jested. The three hobbits laughed, a brief and stilted form of merriment that they cut short when Bilbo came up to them.

"Frodo always spoke very highly of you," Bilbo awkwardly told Sam. "You should have this. It's my old blade, Sting. I would have liked to… No. You shall do her justice well enough."

"Thank you, Mr. Bilbo," Sam stated. He took the elven sword and strapped her to his side, trying not to think about how wrong it felt to be wearing such a thing and how it should have been Frodo carrying his uncle's sword.

"Go well," Elrond told the group. Gandalf nodded and led the way towards the mountains in the East.

Taking one last look at Rivendell, Sam followed behind Gandalf; Strider, with the sword of the king reforged; Boromir, son of Denethor; Gimli, son of Glóin; and Legolas of Mirkwood.

* * *

The passage across the Misty Mountains was mostly uneventful. The group ran into a bit of cold weather as they traveled the same path Bilbo had started along years before, but the only result was a minor case of frostbite on Gimli's part. The mountains were quiet, and quicker than Sam had expected, they were at the Old Ford.

"Which way now?" he asked wearily.

"We travel to Lothlórien by way of the Great River. There won't be a trail for the Enemy to follow, and the current flows faster than we could travel by foot," Aragorn replied, loading their supplies into a boat. "Do not fret, Master Gamgee, the River will bring us swiftly and safely to our destination."

"It's not natural for hobbits to travel by water," Sam muttered under his breath as he cautiously clambered down into the boat with the supplies. "Excepting maybe them from Buckland, but no one ever claimed they were all there in the head… And what of poor Bill? He sure can't fit in a boat with us," Sam stated loudly, clutching the pony's lead.

"Bill will be all right. He knows his way home. It is better that he should not be coming with us, for our journey shall be long and difficult, and even a pony as stout as Bill might despair," Aragorn replied. The pony seemed to glare at the Ranger, but Sam sniffled softly and unloaded the packs from Bill's back.

"Take care of yourself, Bill. Go on back to Rivendell and wait for me there. Merry and Pippin will take care of you until then. I'll need a good pony to take me back to the Shire when this is all done," Sam told the pony, patting him gently on the nose. Bill snorted softly, nuzzled Sam one last time, then started trotting slowly back the way they had come. Sam couldn't help but feel as if he had just left another friend behind, and hoped that Bill would make it through the mountains before the winter came too heavily.

With one last wary look at the small wooden crafts, Sam climbed in with Gandalf, and they started their journey down the Great River. It seemed as if he had left his old life behind on the banks, and everything that was about to happen would be larger and much more terrifying than anything he had already anticipated. His only comfort was Gandalf's good-natured humming as the River swept them along.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lothlórien frightened Sam in a way that Rivendell hadn't. The Lady Galadriel was lovely, but immensely more intense than Lord Elrond had been. When she looked at him, Sam felt as if she saw straight to his soul. She did not seem pleased by what she saw there. So it was with much trepidation that he followed her when she had beckoned.

"This is the Mirror of Galadriel. It shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell. I bid you look into its waters, but do not touch them," the Lady stated, indicating the silver basin filled with water.

He felt foolish for staring into the clear water, but Lady Galadriel was intent on watching him, so he didn't dare to break his gaze from the bowl. He felt himself jump when shapes started to form, and even if he had tried, he could no longer look away. In the blink of an eye, the world around him had faded to black and the ancient forest was gone. In the black abyss there appeared a single Eye that slowly grew, until it filled nearly all the Mirror. The eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat's, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing.

Darkness faded into a cold, pale light. The six companions stood at the very edge of the Dead Marshes, shivering in the cold winter morning. Dark clouds loomed over the mountains that edged the eastern horizon.

"Mount Doom," Gandalf stated, pointing to one of the distant mountains crowned with an angry red glow. Sam gulped as it seemed to pulse with life. He felt as if he were trapped between the jaws of some great, evil creature—the crags of the Emyn Muil looming behind him, and the mountains in the distance trapping him inside. The Ring weighed heavily around his neck and the chain bit into his flesh.

"We shall cross the marshes and continue eastward," Gandalf stated solemnly.

"You mean to make for the Stairs of Cirith Ungol?" Aragorn asked with a note of trepidation in his voice.

"It is the safest route, despite what lies hidden there. She at least serves no master but herself, and if we can pass unnoticed through her lair, we stand a better chance than fighting our way through the hoards of Orcs and other creatures lying in wait inside the Black Gate," Gandalf replied.  
"You cannot mean to pass through the lair of the last child of Ungoliant!" Legolas cried out in despair.  
"I will follow you, Gandalf, even if an elf won't. Dwarves aren't afraid of anything!" Gimli stated, gripping his battle axe firmly as if he were ready to start swinging it already.

"There is good reason to fear Shelob, who was there before Sauron, and before the first stone of Barad-dûr," Gandalf replied.

"If there is such danger in store for us, why then do we go this way? If first we went to Gondor, we could storm the Black Gate with an army of men!" Boromir interjected.

"Sauron will not suspect us to use this road. Shelob may well be a greater risk than a thousand Orcs, because she cares not for rings, or anything devised by mind or hand. Maybe it is a foolish hope for me to believe that together we may be able to make it through the dark passages alive, but it is a hope we must all hold on to," Gandalf stated calmly.

* * *

The days seemed to get progressively shorter as they crossed the Dead Marshes. Sam did not sleep well at night, despite the knowledge that one of the others was always on watch. More and more it seemed as if Boromir had been eying him hungrily. The longer they traveled, the more he insisted that they make for Gondor.

"It is folly to head for this Torech Ungol," Boromir argued with Aragorn.

"Do not speak its name," Gandalf hissed angrily.

"It would be greater folly to stray from our path now," Aragorn replied. It was the same conversation they had been having every day since they had entered the swamps.

"Gondor is not weak! You claim to be the king, but know nothing of my people! My men have given their lives so that you could hide in the wilderness doing nothing! Bring the Ring to them, and we shall have a chance to fight back, a chance to avenge those that we have lost!" Boromir stated.

"I know more about the people of Gondor than you realize. I also know that the Ring must be destroyed. None of us here can control it, Boromir, not even Gandalf. I do not wish to see our people die needlessly because you have been swayed by Sauron's evil ways." Aragorn was calm, but there was a hardness to his tone that left no room for argument.

Boromir and Aragorn were not the only ones that would argue constantly. Legolas and Gimli quarreled ceaselessly between themselves, though since leaving Lothlórien, it was more good-natured than anything else. On rare occasions though, Gandalf would need to separate the two so that they did not try to hurt one another.

It was hard to dislike that pair, but Sam thought that even they lusted after the Ring. It seemed as if their eyes were always watching him, waiting for him to fall asleep so that they could take it for themselves. And so most nights Sam would spend with one eye open, hoping that he would live to see the morning and the Ring wouldn't take control of his companions.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, so my last author's note was rather abrupt. This isn't going to be a very long story. It'sabout four chapters andnine pageslong in MSWord, and I don't plan on adding anything to it. I wrote it for a philosophy class. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The stench had been steadily increasing as they climbed farther and farther up the stairs. Sam felt as if he couldn't climb another stair, but Gandalf continued upward, a grim look on his face. Aragorn was behind Sam, helping him along as needed, but never speaking. The six hadn't spoken a word since they had come within eyesight of Minas Morgul.

It felt as if there were eyes watching him, and Sam couldn't help but peer nervously into the shadows surrounding them all. Gandalf had not dared to give them any light for fear that it would draw Sauron's attention to them. Sam only hoped that by avoiding Sauron's attention, they weren't inadvertently drawing the attention of something far worse.

At last they reached a plateau, but Gandalf showed no signs of resting. There was fear in his eyes as they approached the dark cavern set in the great stone wall, and his hand never strayed far from Glamdring. Legolas had an arrow notched on his bow and was ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Behind him, the two men already had their swords drawn and their sharp eyes were constantly scanning the shadows and darkness.

Gimli was the first to find trouble as he walked into a sticky web and started spluttering loudly. Gandalf hushed him harshly, cutting through the mass of thick fibers easily with his sword. Sam felt the unease increase in the group, and suspected that they had already awoken the beast.

Light appeared ahead. Sam could smell fresh air, and hope filled him. They had made it this far and nothing had happened. The end was in sight. Gandalf's pace quickened. Closer and closer they came, until Sam tripped. Boromir helped him to his feet. Just as Sam was about to whisper a soft thank you, a low bubbling sound reached his ears, and before he could move, Boromir was snatched away by two long, hairy legs.

Aragorn was in front of Sam in an instant, Andúril held at the ready. It was only a moment later before the others had also placed themselves in front of him. The creature let out a despairing wail as Legolas blinded her with his arrows, his aim true even in the darkness.

Despair had filled Sam, but Aragorn's clear voice broke through the darkness.

"_Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!_" he shouted, and it seemed as if Andúril flared to life. The darkness had started to recede, even as Shelob charged the group, bent on getting revenge for her mutilated eyes.

Gandalf stood, sword in one hand, staff in the other, facing the giant spider. There was a bright flare of light that forced Sam to cover his own eyes. Gandalf suddenly seemed much larger and much more imposing than the hobbit had ever seen him. A power had started growing inside the cavern, and the Ring around Sam's neck almost hummed with anticipation.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass." The light flared again, though Sam could not be sure where it came from. His thoughts were suddenly distracted as the Evil Eye flared into his mind, searing through him. A sick sort of dread filled him, and temptation filled him to put the Ring on his finger. Laughter echoed through his head, broken only by the distant shouting of Elvish phrases.

It was not until many minutes later when Sam returned to his senses. They were outside of the cave now, and Gandalf's robes were stained with a thick, black fluid that reminded Sam strongly of tar. Gandalf and Aragorn were speaking softly in Elvish, casting worried glances in his direction.

It took a moment for everything to sink in. They had made it through Torech Ungol, but Boromir was dead. The image of Boromir being torn away from them was burned into his mind. His screams rang in his ears. The spider had made quick work of the man, even before Aragorn and Gandalf had a chance to try and save him. If he lived through this, Sam didn't think he would ever be able to forget that image.

"We must make haste. Sauron will have realized that we are here," Gandalf stated. "If we are lucky, we might be able to reach the slopes of Mount Doom before the Orcs can reach us." No one protested as they quickened their pace.

Gandalf walked beside Sam as Aragorn took the lead. "You saw the Eye," Gandalf stated. Sam looked at him in silence for a moment, noting how tired the wizard looked. He looked almost hopeless, and it scared Sam almost more than the Eye had.

"Yes, I did. What was it that you did to the spider?" Sam asked. Gandalf stared off into the distance for a moment, before lifting his hand towards Sam. He wore a ring with a red stone on it.

"This is Narya, the Ring of Fire. I would not show it to you if I did not think that Sauron did not realize I had it. But he knows, and it may yet worry him at least a little. I will not tell you who bears the other Rings, for it is not my place to reveal such things. As you well know, the burden of a Ring bearer is heavy. If we fail here, they will be revealed, though time enough they might have to still make a difference in this war," Gandalf replied solemnly.

"Do you really think that we can win?" The question had been bothering Sam for days now, and this seemed as good a time as any to finally ask it.

"I think that great things can be accomplished with the help of friends and in times of great desperation. The five of us represent the free people of Middle Earth, and as such, it is our duty to the rest of the world to continue fighting until the bitter end.

"You are stout, Samwise Gamgee, more so than even I could have guessed. The love you hold for your friends, especially for Frodo, will help you accomplish this task. One way or another, we will end this," Gandalf answered, a cryptic smile crossing his face. It gave Sam hope to see the wizard smile, and some of his weariness left.

* * *

Author's Note: One chapter left. I'll post it in a few days. In the meantime, I'd really like to know what everyone thinks of my story so far...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

They had been so close to their goal when a voice had broken the silence of the wastelands. Sam could see the door that led to the fiery pits where the Ring had been created.

"If thou shalt not halt, it shall be thy doom." Gandalf stopped and the group turned towards the man clad in black. There was a legion of Orcs behind him, all of them brandishing their swords and spears. "My Lord bids thee welcome, and offers thou a chance to treat with him.

"The only doom that awaits anyone here today is for your master. We did not come here to waste words in treating with Sauron, faithless and accursed; still less with one of his slaves. Begone!" Gandalf replied. With a scream of rage, Sauron's Messenger charged.

"Run, Sam! We shall hold them off!" Aragorn shouted, Andúril flashing in the red light pouring out of the volcano. Sam could only watch as his friends fought against the odds to protect him, fought to give him the chance to destroy the Ring, once and for all.

Dread filled him as the Nazgûl descended atop winged creatures, their black wings stirring up dust. The same light Sam had seen in Shelob's Lair flared up once more as the wizard dealt with the wraiths.

Gandalf's words returned to him once more. They would end this, one way or another. He hesitated only a moment longer. Gandalf's limp body fell to the ground, the twisted laughter of the Witch King echoing around them all. He turned and ran, stumbling on rocks as he made his way towards the door in the side of the cliff.

Fire flared around him as heat enveloped his body. He stood alone, bathed in the angry red glow emanating from the deadly pit in front of him. The sulfurous fumes caused his eyes to water and his vision blurred. He coughed as he tried to catch his breath after running into the heart of the volcano.

In his hand he held the Ring. It was heavier than he ever remembered it being. Words burned forth from the gold, imprinting them into his memory, into his very soul. It whispered to him of power and everlasting life. Its voice was sweet, but its irresistible lure was broken as a shrill cry echoed through the chamber. Dread filled the hobbit. He was no longer alone.

The wraith that had entered the Crack of Doom was smaller than the others that had been pursuing him, and Sam could feel the despair settling upon him like a blanket. Blue eyes bore into him through shadow, and an icy hand gripped his heart. The Ring's hold over him was completely broken now as he stared at the creature that had once been his friend.

"Help me, Sam," the voice called out, more a throaty whisper than anything Sam had ever heard come from the man whose garden he had once tended. "Use the Ring and help me! Together we can win!"

"No," Sam's voice seemed weak even to his own ears, but it didn't waver, and for that at least he was thankful. "There ain't nothing left I can do for you, Mr. Frodo, aside from destroy this Ring once and for all. And I'll do it for sure, because that's what I promised Master Elrond I'd do. Finish what you started, Mr. Frodo." He was sure the tears in his eyes weren't from the heat any longer. The wraith let out a long, angry hiss directed at the trembling hobbit.

"Give me the Ring!" it demanded. "You will destroy me if you destroy it!"

"The _Ring_ destroyed you, Mr. Frodo, and this is the only way I can go about to make things anywhere near right again. This is the only way. I won't let it hurt no one else. I'm doing this for you as much as for everyone else. For Gandalf and for Strider, and for Boromir and Legolas and Gimli, and for Merry and Pippin and all the rest of the Shire too. So maybe there will be someplace good and nice for everyone to keep on living. But mostly I'm doing this for _you_, Mr. Frodo," Sam replied.

"You're a fool, Sam. There is no redemption for me." It was Frodo's voice then, and Sam knew he had done the right thing. But before he could react, the wraith had thrown itself forward, colliding with Sam. They rolled across the rocks as Sam tried to keep the Ring away from the creature.

"You cannot win. Your friends are dead and soon you will be too. Then I shall take the Ring from you," the wraith croaked out. Sam pulled himself to his feet, but the creature wrapped its arms tightly around the hobbit's neck.

"If I die, at least I did my best in trying to help you," Sam managed to respond despite the small hands trying to squeeze the life out of him. He stumbled backwards under the added weight, and his foot slipped on the edge, sending them both falling, falling into darkness, the Ring still clutched in his hand…

A soft hand on his shoulder startled him as he opened his eyes to find himself in Rivendell once more. There were tears in his eyes, and he scrubbed them away self-consciously with one hand as the other gripped the Ring tightly.

"Isn't there another way? One where we wouldn't all die in the end?" Sam asked hopefully.

Lady Galadriel gave him a sad, mysterious smile and gestured once again to the silver basin. "There may yet be a way where you would not die, but neither would you truly live. Look if you wish, Samwise Gamgee, but be warned that you might not like what you see. The Ring _must_ go to Mordor. What you see will not change that. Now it is up to you to decide, whether it be for good or ill."

**_The End_**

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Author's Note: Well, that's it folks. The end. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought of it. Thanks to everyone who has left me a review. 


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